White Pine Plantation Ecology
Pre- and Post-harvest
Stacy McNulty, August 2014
AEC Mission: To provide an understanding
of the Adirondack ecosystem through research
• Objectives
• Sites & Methods
• Results
 Small mammals
 Birds
 Amphibians
• Comparison
• Implications for
management

Document ecological community of white pine plantation

Compare to monitored natural, managed stands
 Adirondack Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program (ALTEMP) at HWF

Assess impact of white pine harvest on selected fauna

Provide students with a meaningful research opportunity and
exposure to careers in natural resource management

Promote interaction between research team & the broader
community through application of research to outreach
ALTEMP
sites
• 5 sites monitored
1988-present
• Managed &
unmanaged stands
• Context for White
Pine Plantation
Small mammal
Grid
Bird Point Count
• Diversity – forest function
• 54 Adirondack species
• Many herbivores that
change plant assemblage
• Eat insects
• Food for predators
• Disease vectors
• Sherman live traps in 7x7 grid
• Trapped 3 consecutive nights
• Ear-tagged larger animals
Area
Huntington Forest
Pack Forest
Species
Short-tailed shrew
N. flying squirrel
Red-backed vole
Mouse
Sorex shrew
Chipmunk
Short-tailed shrew
N. flying squirrel
S. flying squirrel
Red-backed vole
Mouse
Red squirrel
Chipmunk
2012
2013
6
2
6
6
0
1
3
3
2
8
20
2
1
0
0
1
6
1
0
0
1
0
18
4
0
0
HUNTINGTON FOREST


392 trap-nights
5 species
• (Red squirrels and S. flying
squirrels both found in area)


Small Sorex shrews not
represented well at either site
Equal area and effort, both
sites and years
PACK FOREST


384 trap-nights
7 species
2012




Greater species richness
Greater abundance
Tree and ground squirrels,
mice, voles, shrews
Both sites have diverse
community - typical
2013


Added one shrew
Pack
• Mice declined
• Voles increased


No recaptures from 2012
Nearly 50% decline
Huntington Wildlife Forest, 1996-2013
4
Prodcution Rating (0 = none, 4 = Excellent)
3.5
3
2.5
2
White Pine
Beech
1.5
1
0.5
0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Year
Unpub. AEC data
Of Mice and Mammals
ALTEMP Comparison Sites, Huntington Wildlife Forest
Beech nuts collected
150
25
20
120
15
90
10
60
5
30
0
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Beech nuts
2009
Mice
2010
2011
2012
Mice per 100 Trap Nights
180
• 2- and 4-year cycles
• Many mammal populations
similar
• Vectors (Lyme disease, rabies)
Predator-Prey Cycles and Food
METHODS


Sampled May and July
20x2 meter transects
SIMPSON’S DIVERSITY INDEX

• P40 = 0.14
• 24 (1 per subplot)


Leaf litter and cover object
search – 8 minutes
7 species
• Red-backed salamander, red
eft (newt) most numerous
• Scattered frogs and toads
Lower at HWF in 2012
• P20 = 0.17

Highest – HWF in 2013
• P20 = 0.80

Pack Forest (range 0-0.52).
PRE- VS POST-CUT



Total abundance –
PACK VS. HUNTINGTON

Pack soil drier
• 20% residual plots changed
• >75% red-backed and dusky
little after harvest
• 40% plots mixed results
salamanders at HWF
• Most frogs and toads at HWF
• More red efts at Pack
P20 and P40 similar pre-cut;
lost red efts post-cut
Weather strongly impacts
amphibian presence
• 2013 - rainy


Microhabitat, distance from
water critical
Road – potential impacts
Relate to environmental factors
(e.g., precipitation, pH), diet
Mean Salamanders, Huntington Wildlife Forest
20
18
16
14
12
Two-lineds
10
Red-spotted Newts
Duskys
8
Redbacks
6
4
2
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Unpub. AEC data
Role of Salamanders as Forest Floor Predators
© Caitlin Snyder, 2011
Examples of mites,
midges, beetles and snails
consumed by salamanders
(Snyder 2011)
METHODS



Sampled 5 days in June
Calm, dry weather
About 250 species breed in
Adirondacks
2012 VS. 2013


One circular plot at HWF
One plot in North side stand
for reference
2012 VS. 2013

17 species detected both
years
• 7 in 2012 only
• 5 in 2013 only

Blackburnian Warblers, Least
Flycatchers, Ovenbirds and
Yellow-rumped Warblers were
the most frequently-detected
Families
Thrushes
Warblers
Woodpeckers
Jays/Crows
Chickadees
Finches
Vireos
Wrens
Kinglets
Waxwings
Flycatchers
Sparrows
Nutchatches/Creepers
2012
4
6
1
1
1
0
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
2013
1
5
1
1
0
2
2
1
0
1
1
2
2
Managed
Unmanaged
Least Flycatcher
Bird abundance in
managed vs.
unmanaged forest –
changes over time
1.80
1.40
1.20
1.00
0.80
0.60
0.40
0.20
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
0.00
1983
Relative Abundance
1.60
Canopy closure
10 years post-cut
Habitat less suitable

Bird community in white pine plantation
• Consistent between years

Trends difficult to discern
• One plot surveyed for two years for these highly-mobile species

No major disruptions to the bird community
• Thrushes cause for concern?

Long-term point counts in other sites on HWF
• Habitat changes impact birds
• Habitat loss on winter grounds for migrants (McNulty et al. 2008)

Changes in small mammal community
mostly consistent with regional cycles
• Harvest had little impact? More data!

Predicted heavier harvest in the P20
sites would negatively impact
amphibians– not found
• Microhabitat (e.g., decaying logs) and regional
weather patterns may drive amphibian
population demographics

Birds largely stable community preand post-cut
• Birds may differ in coming years as understory
vegetation/structure changes in P20 and P40
Thanks to the USDA-CREES McIntire-Stennis Program for funding , the AEC
for support and data and the ESF students who assisted with field work.
References
Snyder, C. 2011. Terrestrial salamanders in the Adirondack Mountains:
Feeding ecology and implications of calcium. MS Thesis, SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse NY
McNulty, S.A., S. Droege, and R.D. Masters. 2008. Long-term trends in
breeding birds in an old-growth Adirondack forest and the surrounding
region. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:153–158.